Local electronics player SKK Mobile continues to give its bigger rivals a run for the money by releasing devices with good specs for a whole lot less.

Unveiled online just a couple of hours ago and with SRP of only Php 5,499, SKK Mobile's newest handset release - the SKK Phoenix X1 - has officially become the new 'most affordable Octa Core smartphone in the Philippines' -- a title taken away from SKK Kraken by Cherry Mobile (via Cherry Mobile Pulse) last August 9, 2014.

In terms of design, SKK Phoenix X1 - to me - looks like a smaller version of Samsung's 2014 flagship, Samsung Galaxy S5. You get the same rounded corners and 'ridged' metallic side frame. The white variant, in fact, even has a similar bedimpled back cover design of SGS5; The black version, nonetheless, has a plain matte finish. And interestingly, the position of the LED flash for the main camera is reminiscent of the 'LED flash + Heart Rate Monitor' module of Samsung's top-of-the-line handset.

But it's what's under the hood that puts this model at par with more expensive releases by other brands. SKK Phoenix X1 runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system with its 1.7 GHz Octa Core ARM Cortex A7 and Mali 450 based MediaTek MT6592 chipset. Users will also enjoy the benefits of 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory that's expandable up to 64 GB though the phone's microSD card slot.

I was told that SKK Mobile is now in the process of delivering retail units to all of their stores nationwide. Some stores in Metro Manila may already have it as of writing but I'm expecting SKK Phoenix X1 to become fully available at all branches next week.